Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 78 - 28: Capturing Both Mother and Child (Part 2)

Chapter 78: Chapter 28: Capturing Both Mother and Child (Part 2)
Though his strength hadn’t fully recovered, every step he took was exceptionally light after shedding his burden.
Almost running, he soon spotted Lai Fu swiftly chased on the mountainside platform.
Its yellowish fur almost entirely blended into the soil of the slope, looking quite indistinct from a distance.
In front of it, a small white object was desperately fleeing.
It was a little lamb, seemingly not long since birth, its legs still wobbly, zigzagging with frequent feints. Agile, indeed, yet too slow, unable to escape Lai Fu’s blockade even with all its might.
While fleeing, the lamb bleated for its mother’s help.
But the flock feared Lai Fu greatly, long since having run to the other end of the platform, looking on indifferently from fifty or sixty meters away.
Aside from the mother sheep who slightly separated from the group, pawing the ground with her hoof in anxious worry, the other sheep appeared unbothered, after all, they weren’t the ones in misfortune.
"Impressive, Lai Fu!"
Chen Zhou stood dumbfounded, not expecting that what he couldn’t achieve with a gun was so easily done by a dog.
Having encountered such a good chance to capture a live goat, he wasn’t about to let it slip by, hurriedly grabbing a crowbar and running in Lai Fu’s direction.
Lai Fu, too, noticed his master’s approach, became even more eager to show off, sometimes rolling over and nudging the lamb with his snout to trip it up, sometimes gently biting its hind legs to pull it down, perfectly demonstrating what it means to toy with.
The lamb’s cries grew more piercing, and Chen Zhou noticed the mother goat struggling to control her protective urge, subtly slowing down her pace.
Anyone who has raised goats knows that the difficulty of catching a goat and a sheep are completely different.
Goats are clever and smart, with strong jumping abilities, dangerous horns, and they run fast, making them very hard to catch.
Especially these short-haired goats, with neck fur like it’s been greased, impossible to grip. You can only seize the chance to catch their hind legs as they pass by.
However, opportunities to grab the hind legs are not just readily available; they require specific terrain to be effective.
For instance, in a pen, within a fenced area, or a narrow alley, or if the flock is huge, pinning the target in the middle like a dumpling, making escaping impossible.
But there are few exceptions to catching goats in this high-difficulty task, one of which is a mother goat shortly after giving birth.
The natural urge to protect her offspring sometimes lowers a mother goat’s vigilance. Amidst the lamb’s frequent calls, there’s a chance she’ll slowly approach her young.
By then, the opportunity will arise.
Of course, not every mother goat will be overwhelmed by maternal love; many will leave their lambs behind and run away. Chen Zhou could only take a gamble.
He didn’t have milk powder; capturing just a lamb means it won’t survive, he’d have to kill it for meat.
If he could catch this mother and child, and later find a way to capture a male goat, he could breed and tame more goats.
Compared to eating it directly, that would be the most valuable use.
Right now, Lai Fu had already drawn the attention of most of the flock, and the lamb’s energy was nearly drained, the perfect time to act.
Chen Zhou had helped his elders catch goats during elementary school.
Back then, he was small and weak, not stronger than the goats, once even got butted in the backside, thus leaving a psychological shadow, fearing the horns.
Ever since he grew up, the elderly at home aged as well and gave up on the risky livestock business long ago, focusing only on farming and tending to the vegetable garden, and Chen Zhou hadn’t touched goats since.
He doubted whether he could accurately catch the running goat legs, deciding to take a more reliable approach—using a rope loop.
The Mongolians have the horse lasso, and similarly, there’s a goat lasso.
The goat lasso is shorter than the horse lasso, using a loose-tightening knot to loop the goat’s head, curbing its forward charge, mainly used for sheep.
Chen Zhou didn’t have a rope or white wax rod with him, only a crowbar and a belt.
The opportunity was fleeting, he didn’t have time to return to the cave for ropes, he could only unbuckle the belt and fasten it to the bent head of the crowbar, holding up his loose trousers with one hand, wielding the crowbar with the other, giving it a shot.
The lamb finally couldn’t take Lai Fu’s teasing, its front leg gave way, kneeling directly.
The mother goat hesitated, taking another step forward, the lead goat quickly calling out seeing her stray from the flock.
Just then, Lai Fu went up and bit the lamb’s back, making it wail loudly in pain.
The mother goat couldn’t restrain its protective impulse upon hearing the bleat, lowering its head, exposing a pair of curved horns, ramming straight at Lai Fu.
Twenty meters, ten meters, nine meters...
Chen Zhou had already reached near the lamb, holding the crowbar, trying to appear harmless, waiting for the right moment.
The mother goat was getting closer!
It had long noticed the sneaky Chen Zhou, deliberately detouring a small segment while charging at Lai Fu.
Two meters!
The mother goat estimated only Chen Zhou’s body length, not taking into account the strange stick, unknowingly entering the goat lasso’s range of attack.
"Hey!"
Letting go of his trousers, gripping the end of the crowbar with both hands, swinging it around, flinging the belt buckle open.
Chen Zhou took a stride, aiming directly to loop it around the mother goat’s head.
Even though the mother goat was running, it didn’t affect its agility, deftly shifting direction to dodge Chen Zhou’s goat lasso.
Keeping a distance, it stood cautiously on the spot, observing the man and dog’s reactions, once more motionless.
Lai Fu was seen with a mouthful of wool, making the lamb tremble its legs in pain.
Chen Zhou feared this guy would taste the sheep’s blood and couldn’t stop itself from biting the lamb to death, hurriedly stepping in to prevent it.